Ravi Dubey and Sargun Mehta as a couple have been blessed with the sound backing of being actors who have conquered roles with their might and acting prowess.
Now, they see their dream of being Producers flourish and grow with the success of Udaariyaan, Dreamiyata Entertainment’s first-ever Hindi TV show.
Udaariyaan which airs on Colors has been a wonderful story, which has appealed to the masses. The show has seen few great milestones in the form of a jump in ratings.
We at IWMBuzz.com had the privilege of talking to the Producer and Writer Sargun Mehta to know about the journey she has had with Ravi Dubey in becoming a Producer.
Excerpts:
Congrats to you and Ravi for coming up with a show like Udaariyaan. From where did the initial idea originate and develop?
One of the other platforms actually approached us and wanted us to do a show. We were happy with the idea but did not know how to go about it (laughs). We started brainstorming, wherein Ravi came up with few ideas and I came up with a few. I don’t know from where I got this idea of Udaariyaan, and when I narrated it, all were happy with it. When we took the idea to a platform, they felt we should take it National. We held on to the concept for nearly a year. We worked on the project bit more and later, pitched it to Colors.
How did you and Ravi get the thought of nose-diving into the creative world as Producers?
We had this thought for quite some time. When we launched Dreamiyata Entertainment, we started with producing Punjabi films. We wanted to do business. Since we have been in this field, and the only way to do business here is by becoming Producers, it came pretty naturally. I think both of us love creating stuff. There are projects that we believe in. It’s best if actors are Producers so that they can get to incorporate their thoughts into the work.
What do you think has been the selling factor of Udaariyaan? We hear it has a huge fan base in Punjab.
When I pitched the show and was writing it, I was sure that I wanted it to be very real. There was no space for any drama that was unreal. There is no hidden drama in Udaariyaan; there is no trauma owing to hidden feelings. If Jasmine has told something, Fateh comes and tells it to Tejo. If Fateh is crying for Jasmine, Tejo can see it. We are not playing on hidden emotion; we are working on real emotions. Since I was doing Punjabi films for a long time, there was as much authenticity that I could put on the set, costume, language. That has clicked really well with Udaariyaan which has the backdrop of Punjab.
You did not go for big names while casting and rather looked for actors who fit the roles aptly. How did you cast your three leads? Take us through it.
This is the worst!! I went mad. The casting went on from January 2020 to January 2021. Earlier the show was to happen in Mumbai and that was when we were casting people in Mumbai. We auditioned so many people. But I don’t know why, from the very first day, I was sure that I did not want a known face to play any of my three main characters. I wanted to work on a blank slate. I did not want my actors to carry baggage. This one required a blank slate. After the lockdown, it was decided that we shoot the show in Chandigarh. So this was when a fresh round of auditions happened in Chandigarh. The first one we cast between the three characters was Isha Malviya for Jasmine. Isha sailed through at the mock shoot. I loved the spunk in her. Few workshops and she will be able to pull it off, is what we believed in. She is exactly doing the same now.
There were many Tejos that came our way. One day, I was looking for my cast on Instagram. I was swiping through the reels when I got a glance at a reel of Priyanka Choudhary. When I went on her profile, I loved the first glance. My team contacted her on Instagram, and within half an hour, she replied. This happened at 7 am in morning. By 6 pm, the same evening, I was personally taking the look test of another girl for Tejo. At 6.30 PM, I got Priyanka’s audition, and I watched her for 30 seconds and knew she was our Tejo. I sent it to the channel and they replied in 15 minutes saying we have got our Tejo. By the end of the night at say about 10 PM, Priyanka was locked with all the monies talked about. She was flying soon to be with us.
The biggest challenge was Fateh. We wanted somebody who could be the cute-looking lover boy, the Ranjha. He had to be a person who could connect with the masses when he would cry for Jasmine. It took us so much time to finalize this character. I remember, we finalized Fateh on the day of Lohri. One day one of my casting people, told me, about the first audition that we liked in Mumbai, of Ankit. Ankit Gupta was the first guy I had liked when the audition had started in Mumbai. Thankfully, he had not taken up any show. Things worked well and he was meant to be a part of our project.
In quick time, fans have started to react and have even created fan groups for Fateh and Tejo and Fateh and Jasmine. How do you see all this adulation for your characters?
Oh my God, I love it!! It’s like a proud parent feeling. It is very real. I love the idea that they are new people. All of them mostly are Chandigarh and Punjab-based actors. They have never had the time and space to go to Mumbai and make a career for themselves. Today, when I see them being so happy that they are on National Television after shooting from their own space, it makes me feel very good. Now when I see fans fighting over FaTejo and JasFa, it makes me feel good. I am happy that my actors are delivering performances that are making people get attached to them. I love them so much.
How will you describe the next phase of growth that your characters will see post the marriage?
You are going to see huge turns and twists. I can’t reveal what you will see.
Is it easy for actors to become Producers? Take us through the inspiring journey.
Yes, it was good. We have been a part of the industry, and know what works and what does not. But as actors, we had seen only one part of it. As Producers, we had to get into everything and know every bit of stuff happening around us. So it has been very tough. The initial four months were challenging, and I cannot lie about it. There were days when we did not remember when we slept, ate, etc. Thankfully, Ravi was taking care of the technical stuff from wherever he was shooting. I was in Chandigarh from the time the set was being made. There were days when I thought that we won’t be able to pull it off. But well, we did it finally!! It has been very tough. But we have been able to push our limits to all extents possible. When the show went on air, we were very proud makers. It was not about the TRP, it was about the fact that we pulled it off.
We have heard of many real-life stories of girls being brought up with the vision of getting married and settling abroad. How will you explain this?
Well, I can’t explain this!! Everybody has their own journey and set of dreams. Their dreams come from how much they have been exposed to life, where they are born, what they have studied etc. I am not going to sit on a high chair and judge them if they see a dream of going abroad after marriage. I just feel that one should not be so obsessed about their dreams that they let everything go out of their hands.
The TRP boom of Udaariyaan, how elated have you been with this first milestone that Udaariyaan has seen?
After the second TRP, I detached myself from it. Later, when I was in London, I all of a sudden started getting congratulatory messages. Later I got a message from the channel and Ravi too called, to inform me that the show had a good jump in ratings. We were so elated and excited. This made me catch up on the episodes when I was in London. So I put on the show. The wedding scenes were on and my friends literally loved it and would not move without seeing the next few episodes. I really enjoyed the fact that people were really hooked on to the show.
What can viewers look forward to now?
Twists, turns, love, romance, hatred, jealousy, fights (laughs).
Tell us about the cute bonding that Priyanka, Ankit and Isha share offscreen.
They are really adorable. We have put in place a very cute cast. It is like a picnic out there. They are not from Chandigarh. So we have got them flats here, and everyone is staying in a particular society. Basically, it is like living with your friends and going to work in the morning. They go back home to still be together.
These three actors are real finds in the TV industry, though Ankit has had his share of work. Tell us about it.
Hundred percent fact!! They are real finds. Isha is really amazing. This is the first project that she has ever done. Priyanka has been part of few projects; she has been a friend to the lead or sister to the lead. In fact, even Ankit had never played the lead. Today, they are proving themselves and us right for choosing them. Not only them, everybody in the cast has a great future ahead.
With Udaariyaan giving you the reason to smile, what lies ahead for Dreamiyata?
We have few more TV shows coming. We have web shows coming. We have Punjabi films lined up. There’s a lot that is being planned at the moment.
Tell us about the long-term goals of Dreamiyata?
Yes, as I said, we already are. We are on the verge of getting in there, doing many more shows on varied platforms.